sort

sort

(sôrt)

n.

1. A group of persons or things of the same general character; a kind. See Usage Note at kind2.

2. Character or nature: books of a subversive sort.

3. One that exemplifies the characteristics of or serves a similar function to another: "A large dinner-party ... made a sort of general introduction for her to the society of the neighbourhood"(George Eliot).

4. A person; an individual: The clerk is a decent sort.

5. Computers An operation that arranges data in a specified way: did an alphabetic sort on the columns of data.

6. Archaic A way of acting or behaving: "in this sort the simple household lived / From day to day"(William Wordsworth).

v.sort·ed, sort·ing, sorts

v.tr.

1. To place or arrange according to class, kind, or size; classify: sorted the books into boxes by genre. See Synonyms at arrange.

2. To separate from others: sort the wheat from the chaff.

v.intr.

1. To make a search or examination of a collection of things: sorted through the laundry looking for a matching sock.

2. To be or become arranged in a certain way.

Phrasal Verb:

sort out

1. To separate from others: sorted out the books to be donated to the library.

2. To clarify or resolve: She tried to sort out her problems.

3. To bring or restore to health or good condition: A good night's sleep will sort you out.

4. To reprimand or punish (someone) for a mistake or offense.

Idioms:

after a sort

In a haphazard or imperfect way: managed to paint the chair after a sort.

of sorts/a sort

1. Of a mediocre or inferior kind: a constitutional government of a sort.

2. Of one kind or another: knew many folktales of sorts.

out of sorts

1. Slightly ill.

2. Irritable; cross: The teacher is out of sorts this morning.

sort ofInformal

Somewhat; rather: "Gambling and prostitution ... have been prohibited, but only sort of"(George F. Will).

Sort

a group having similar qualities; a crowd or flock. See also batch, set, suit.

Examples: sort of benefit, 1578; of doves, 1687; of ewes, 1611; of figs, 1438; of gallants, 1598; of goodly knights, 1509; of raisins; of ships, 1681; of pretty tales, 1584; of traitors; a great sort of wives, 1529.

sort

Sort is used as a noun to talk about a class of people or things. Sort is a countable noun. After words like all and several, you use sorts.

There are all sorts of reasons why this is true.

They sell several sorts of potatoes.

After sorts of you can use either the plural or singular form of a noun. For example, you can say 'They sell most sorts of shoes' or 'They sell most sorts of shoe'. The singular form is more formal.

There were five different sorts of biscuits.

They attract two main sorts of investor.

After sort of you use the singular form of a noun.

I know you're interested in this sort of thing.

'What sort of car did she get?'  'A sports car.'

In conversation, these and those are often used with sort. For example, people say 'I don't like these sort of jobs' or 'I don't like those sort of jobs'. This use is generally thought to be incorrect. Instead, you should say 'I don't like this sort of job' or 'I don't like that sort of job'.

They never fly in this sort of weather.

I've had that sort of experience before.

In more formal English, you can also say 'I don't like jobs of this sort'.

A device of that sort costs a lot of money.

You can also use like this, like that, or like these after a noun. For example, instead of saying 'this sort of weather', you can say 'weather like this'.

operation - (computer science) data processing in which the result is completely specified by a rule (especially the processing that results from a single instruction); "it can perform millions of operations per second"

Verb

1.

sort - examine in order to test suitability; "screen these samples"; "screen the job applicants"

choose, pick out, select, take - pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives; "Take any one of these cards"; "Choose a good husband for your daughter"; "She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her"

2.

sort - arrange or order by classes or categories; "How would you classify these pottery shards--are they prehistoric?"

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